Panic in the Sky
by Uncle Sporkums
Summary: Golden age Superwoman story based on an episode of the 50's TV series. After some hoods steal a chunk of K-Metal from the museum, Superwoman flashes back to her enacounter with a meteor made of the substance, which made her an amnesiac in the care of a farm family.


"Up in the sky,look!" "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" "It's Superwoman!"

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! This amazing stranger from the planet Krypton! The Woman of Steel: Superwoman! Possessing remarkable physical strength, Superwoman fights a never ending battle for truth and justice! Disguised as a mild mannered newspaper reporter, Clara Kent!

The man in the moon was giving his usual bright, glowing smile as he sat high in the stars, gazing down on Metropolis, New York with complete abandon. The cares and worries of these people meant nothing to him.

Gliding just above the skyline, looking like a large human shaped kite, Superwoman sped towards her target, her long red cape fluttering in the strong breeze her trajectory was supplying her with. Using her super vision, she now had her goal, The Metropolis Museum of Natural History, in her sights. Memories wafted into her head of the wild adventure she and Louis had regarding the unfrozen T-Rex's rampage through the city, the same monstrous reptile who was now the most famous attraction at the Metropolis Zoo, or any zoo worldwide, thanks to her. She quickly rid her mind of the thoughts of her personal achievements and tuned it to a more serious, concentrated frequency. Her super hearing had detected a break-in and she was going to see that the culprits didn't get away. Ever since the news had broke that the sly gangster "Gentleman" John Corben had busted out of prison, she had been itching to put him back where he belonged.

Superwoman landed gracefully right outside the museum's broad beige doors. Sure enough, one of them had been smashed right down, splintered wood lay about the stone steps resembling pickup sticks. Superwoman merely glanced down at the broken entryway, before strutting inside.

Superwoman quickly scanned her surroundings as she zipped by each darkened room as a barely visible blur. To her surprise, nothing seemed to have been touched or moved thus far. The giant triceritops skeleton stood in his usual pose, his mouth hung open in a daft fashion, about to swallow some leaves, or the like. The highly valued Indian and African tribal masks and weapons lay undisturbed in their perspex cases. A puzzled look began to form on Superwoman's face, her eyebrows arched quizzicly, her mouth turned downwards in a frown of bewilderment. [They don't seem to be touching any of the valuable things. What's going on here?] She thought to herself.

A few rooms down, in the precious jewels and minerals section, Superwoman spotted two uniformed security guards who were obviously unconcious. They were gagged with tattered, grease stained rags, their arms were bound behind their backs, and they were tied together at the waist with their backs to each other in a sitting position, their heads bowed foreward as if they were praying.

[Sorry, boys. You'll have to wait here until I deal with a couple of sticky fingered crooks.] Superwoman regretfully thought to herself, before she suddenly heard a somewhat loud clatter in the room next to her. Quick as a flash, the Woman of Steel lept directly into the darkness of the open doorway!

The two thieves stood with their backs turned to her. They appeared to be fiddling with some manner of thing. Suddenly, with a small clicking sound, the room became illuminated in a bright white light. The thieves, both heavily built men, dressed completely in black with black sagging berets atop their heads, and black handkerchiefs tied tightly around their mouths and noses, spun around immediately, looks of anger and surprise in thier eyes as they instinctively drew their revolvers from their waistbands, one of them appeared to be holding a small blank metal box with a padlock on it. The anger in the men's eyes quickly turned to fear, however, as the two saw the statuesque Superwoman, her mighty muscles and bosoms bulging from her tight blue leotard, standing next to the plain light switch on the wall, her arms crossed, and an angry expression on her face.

"I..IT'S SUPERWOMAN!" The thug on the right, a man with bushy brown eyebrows and what appeared to be a thin, hollow face under his mask stammered in terror, he dropped the metal container to the floor with a loud clanging noise. The lock burst off the box, and the container swung open.

"Quick! Let 'er have it!" His associate, a thug with a somewhat thicker face, with thin black eyebrows atop it.

Both men then aimed their pistols at the Woman of Steel and pulled the triggers, the popping of gunfire and burst of muzzle flash began erupting. Superwoman didn't flinch, however, as she kept her authoritive pose, an almost bored expression was across her face as round after round of ammunition bounced off of her body and fell limply to the floor with a sound comparable to coins striking the ground.

The shooting stopped, the thugs frozen in their firing positions, their eyes wide with panic, their bodies visibly shuddering.

Superwoman crooked one eyebrow upwards and smirked, she then raised one hand from her ample chest and lifted her index finger, wagging it and saying "Now, now, boys, you shouldn't make all that noise when people are trying to sleep." with the voice of a scolding Kindergarten teacher. Superwoman then began to confidently stride towards the men, ready to make short work of them. However, as she got closer and closer to them, a strange feeling began to come over her, a feeling that she was losing energy, almost like the strength was beginning to drain from her body...

Superwoman was finally right in front of the thugs. With a swift motion, she grabbed the collars of their shirts and lifted upwards..nothing happened! Neither of the goons' feet even left the ground! Superwoman's face sank slowly as the two thugs looked at each other confused. The hood with the thick eyebrows seemed to get an idea. He took hold of Superwoman's shoulders and pushed. The Maiden of Might's eyes widened with shock as she lost her balance and actually fell backwards, landing hard on her bottom! The thugs began to chuckle to themselves as one said to the other mockingly "I guess Superwoman ain't so super no more!" Their stomachs then began to heave with the wheezing laughter of people who had smoked too many cigarettes.

Superwoman sat helpless like an invalid on the floor, as her mind raced for an explanation. Her crystal blue eyes were then drawn to the metal box lying at the crooks' feet. Superwoman then realized that the box wasn't metal..but lead! Her eyes drifted to the glowing green jagged fragment of rock that she expected would be there. [K-Metal..] She begrudgingly thought.

"Hey, Johnny, what say you we puts Superwoman 'ere inta dreamland?" The thug with bushy eyebrows asked his partner.

"Sure 'ting!" Johnny replied, his eyes reflecting the twisted smile Superwoman knew lay under his mask.

The heavy browed thug raised his revolver by it's barrel, swinging the butt down towards Superwoman's head! The Woman of Steel braced for the impact as the steel weapon came down hard on the heroine's crown..only to shatter into a number of uncountable peices upon impact! The gangster's eyes popped open once again as he fearfully shouted an obscenity.

Superwoman wondered to herself what had happened.. She had been weakened, yet she didn't feel a thing!

"L..Let's just get 'dis rock back to da boss, Frankie!" Johnny stuttered as the two men scooped up the rock placed it back in the box and ran for the door.

[I can't let them get away!] Superwoman thought anxiously as she got to her feet and took off in the two thugs' direction. As she attempted to gain speed, she realized that she could no longer run faster than an average human! Superwoman began to fret as she thought [Oh, dear! I hope that my powers return soon!].

Superwoman stumbled through the broken down front door of the Museum, only to see the goons' black sedan speeding away into the night with a squeal of rubber! Superwoman immediately gave chase, running and running as fast as she possibly could, yet the car was soon out of sight, and The Maiden of Might was left standing in the middle of the road, even when a normal human should have been out of breath, she maintained her composure.

Superwoman then crouched down and lept into the air, aiming for the direction of the crooks' car. However, as quickly as she gained altitude, she realized that she was expieriencing the sensation of rapid descent! The heroine's eyes widened with panic as she looked downwards and saw that she was headed right for a lamppost! Superwoman desperately did everything she could to slow down her velocity, gritting her teeth with effort, but sure enough, Superwoman crashed into the pole, bending it with a squeal of metal! [I suppose I'm not back to 100% yet..] Superwoman thought, as she began to rise from the ground.

As Superwoman regained her footing, she realized that, yet again, she hadn't felt a thing! "Hmm, I suppose my invunerability isn't affected from K-Metal's effects." She said to herself, placing her finger and thumb to her chin. Superwoman then turned to the lamppost, which was now bent like a horseshoe! "Well, I certainly can't leave this that way!" Superwoman said as if she was looking at a cluttered room. The Maiden of might put her hand to the post and began to shove.. Nothing! "What?!" Superwoman began to fret, her eyes looking downwards, shooting from left to right like a couple of blue ping pong balls. Superwoman tried again, this time placing both of her outstretched hands against the arched pole pushing up..up..straining with all that she had..or rather didn't have. But the pole remained crooked.

"I..I can't believe this! My superhuman strength is gone!" Superwoman said, beginning to grow frustrated. "How will I be able to protect this city and the man I love, now?!" Her eyes narrowed angrily as she felt the indignation of this inconvieniance bubble inside her being. That's when she felt it.. energy..no, not only that..Power..raw POWER seeping back into her veins, into her muscles! Yes! She felt fantastic..She truly felt SUPER, once again!

Superwoman grinned broadly like a beauty contestant as she tightly flexed her biceps as far as they would go. The power and might of Kryptonian genetics bulged so tightly that she was sure that the material of her costume would rip to shreds! The Woman of Steel hold of the pole with only her right index finger, and carefully bent the post upwards and foreward with another groan of metal, until it was straight once again! Superwoman was filled with joy as she couldn't help giggling to herself. It felt so good to be super again! The smile on Superwoman's face then faded as she stoically looked towards the lights of the city, thinking [I'll get those thieving bandits yet! But, first things first, I need to rescue those poor guards..]. As Superwoman walked back towards the now jagged entrance of the museum, she began to recall the time she first encountered the dangerous rock...

In the polished sterile, white and extremely wide room of the Metropolis Observatory, Professor Steven Roberts, an elderly, but still quite active man, with thinning white slicked back hair, a pair of thick lensed, brown rimmed eyeglasses that sat upon a slightly wrinkled, clean shaven face. Roberts was dressed in a white dress shirt and black tie under a spotless white lab coat. He was glancing through the almost comically tiny eyepiece of the powerful gargantuan telescope that pointed out of the slot on the roof of the circular shaped building. Suddenly, Roberts' left eye, which he had squeezed shut, bulged open in shock and horror. "Heavens!" He exclaimed in a strangled voice, clutching his heart, as he jerked his head away from the scope. He hurried down the steps as fast as his legs would carry him and rushed up to the black telephone that sat on his green baize covered desk. He snatched up the reciever and frantically spun the rotary dial. He began to sweat profusley as he heard the ringing, before his call was picked up. "Operator, get me the Chief Editor of the Daily Planet! This is an emergency!" he practically shouted, casting his manners aside.

The atmosphere in the offices of the Daily Planet were thick with worry and the choking scent of cigarette smoke. War was brewing in Europe ever since this mysterious new "Superwoman" character, this beautiful costumed heroine with powers beyond belief, had single-handedly stopped a Nazi airstrike on Metropolis. However, despite everyone's best efforts to thank her, including President Roosevelt, who wished to commend her, the alluring crusader had completely disappeared from sight. Little did the public know, however, that Superwoman was still amongst them, disguised as the eager young bespectacled reporter, Clara Kent, who at this moment, dressed in a white dress shirt and green tie, with a candy pink jacket and skirt, her long black hair done up in a bun, and a small green hat atop her head, was trotting through the Planet's lobby, her head held high, and a bright smile on her face.

Louis Lane, the veteran reporter with whom she shared an office, and her main rival, was leaning against a desk, seemingly waiting for her. "Well, Clarybelle, you sure do look chipper this fine morning." He remarked in a deadpan voice, his eyes trained on her like two black gunbarrels.

"Sorry, Louis, can't stop to chat. The Chief just gave me a great story to cover at the observatory!" Clara gleefully countered, not even bothering to look at him.

"Another lunar eclipse? Sounds thrilling." Louis jabbed sarcastically.

"Well, Professor Roberts said it was urgent, so it'll probably be big news." Clara said as an aside, as she began to walk out the door.

"Ah, that old codger's blood pressure goes up every time he spots a speck of dust on his telescope!" Louis said mockingly. But Clara had already shut her ears off to his insults as she walked out to the street and hailed a Taxi.

"A METEOR?!" Clara exclaimed with fright, her eyes wide with shock, her hands up to her mouth.

"I know it sounds strange, but while I was going about my usual stargazing, I noticed what appeared to be a new and extremely bright green, glowing shooting star hurtling past the astroid belt!" Professor Roberts said in a well learned, but worried voice "Yet, upon closer inspection, I discovered that it appeared to be a green meteor. Not only that, but my calculations, I believe that it's headed straight for Earth, specifically New York City, at a high rate of speed! Millions of lives are at stake, Miss Kent!"

Clara's chest began to heave nervously, she couldn't just rush off without finishing the interview. As painful as it was, she had to get more information and keep her composure. "Um..Professor, from where did you believe this comet originated?" she asked, trying to calm her breathing.

Roberts mopped his pasty, wrinkled brow with a starch white handkerchief as he stammered "Uh...L..Let's see, now.." He then began to make writing motions in midair, as if writing upon an imaginary chalkboard. "I..I've estimated that I..It's somewhere from what we call the "K" System.. A galaxy about 7 billion light years from ours.."

Clara finished scratching the troubling data into her shorthand pad, amazed that her pencil's lead tip didn't snap under the pressure. "Well, thank you, Professor, I'll get this story to press as soon as I can. I'll see myself out if you don't mind."  
Clara stated in a firm tone as she began to walk at a quick pace towards the door, already beginning to undo the knot on her tie as she turned the doorknob sideways, a look of determination and concern on her face as she thought to herself [This looks like a job for Superwoman!]

Once outside, Clara looked around for a safe place to change. After several quick glances around her perimeter, she spotted a mercifully near thick clump of bushes! After making sure that no one was around, Clara dashed behind them, positive that she was out of sight. Clara then practically tore off her hat and threw it to the floor. She then hastily undid her hairbun, shook her long black hair down, whipped off her glasses, threw off her jacket, finished undoing her necktie, ripped open her shirt to reveal the black and red "S" emblem atop her large and firm bosoms, yanked down her skirt and kicked off her shoes. She then rose from behind the foliage, fully revealed as the blue clad heroine, Superwoman! With a stoic look on her face, her thin eyebrows furrowed with concentration, Superwoman then crouched down and took a mighty leap into the air!

Travelling at an extremely high rate of speed through the atmosphere, her body glowing red with the heat, yet not feeling a thing as she broke through the barrier and shot out into the blanket of stars. Off in the distance, she spotted the faint green glow of the meteor! Superwoman increased her speed, unaffected by the lack of gravity or oxygen, and aimed directly for the burning space rock, passing several planets in a matter of seconds!

Strangely, as she began to get closer and closer to the meteor, she could hear a slight ringing in her ears, as if she was close to a very small, high pitched bell. However, she ignored it and pressed on, she had a job to do! However, as pressed on, the ringing got louder and louder, until it was an almost deafening roar! On top of that, she was feeling as if her strength was surely but slowly being drained from her body.. Superwoman squinted as the flaming green rock was now right in front of her. [What's happening to me? Why do I feel like this?] Superwoman wondered to herself, before thinking with conviction [Nevertheless, I've got to destroy this meteor!]. Superwoman was now practically in front of the giant rock of death as she cocked back her arm and took a heavy swing...

BANG! As soon as Superwoman's fist made contact with the meteor, the lights went out. As the large hunk of space rock was knocked slightly to the side, but otherwise undamaged, an unconcious Superwoman plummeted back to Earth at a high rate of speed.

Superwoman's body ripped through the atmospheric barrier once again, and shot straight downwards past the clouds straight into a very large empty field. With the sound of 100 tank cannons firing at once, Superwoman slammed into the ground, instantly creating a large crater that went 30 feet below ground level. Residents as far as twenty miles away were reported to have expierienced an earthquake that nearly knocked their houses off their foundations!

For about 10 minutes, Superwoman lay unmoving in the smoking rubble of the ground. Then, suddenly her eyelids flickered, then opened. Superwoman slowly sat up and stretched as if she had just gotten out of bed. She then rather unsteadily got to her feet. After taking a look around her, Superwoman thought to herself [Huh? How did I get here? What's going on?] She then looked downwards at her costume, and in back of her, saying "What? What are these strange clothes that I'm wearing?" Superwoman then began to shudder as she came to a frightening realization. "Wait a minute.. Who am I?!"

Superwoman decided at that moment "Whomever I am, I'd better get out of this large hole!" Superwoman dug her fingers deep into the scorching hot earth, yet, her hands didn't even feel warm! [Hmm, that's strange.. My other senses tell me that this ground should be hot to touch, but when I actually feel it, it doesn't feel that way at all! How is that possible?] Superwoman wondered with slight confusion, before casting the thought aside and continuing her climb. Normally, at full strength, Superwoman could've climbed out of the massive crater in a fraction of a second, or better yet, have flown up in the blink of an eye. However, after her encounter with the meteor, Superwoman wasn't exactly her old self, it took about eight minutes and fifty-two seconds of clawing, hoisting and grunting before she finally reached the top of the large cavity, before lifting her body to the top and assuming a sitting position, panting slightly from the effort it had taken. After a short rest, Superwoman rose to her feet and began walking north.

Each mile of endless dirt road seemed to stretch all the way to oblivion, the eerie silence was occasionally only broken by the occasional distant bird call or an approaching car or livestock-toting truck which slowed down it's pace long enough that the usually male driver could give a firm, disapproving glare, before motoring past. Superwoman could feel the contemptful feelings beneath the hardened, stubbled faces. [Why do these others seem to hate me?] Superwoman thought solemnly with a blush of shame [I don't understand..].

Eventually, an object in the distance caught Superwoman's eye, she strained her eyes to see it more clearly, but all she could make out was that it was medium, squared, and white. Superwoman quickened the pace of her walk to get a better look. Upon approaching it, she saw that it was a sign, a 6x34 sign made from wood planks painted white with large happy purple letters streamed across it proclaiming "Summersdale Welcomes You!" [Well, at least something here's friendly, even if it's just a sign..] Superwoman thought with a slight smile beginning to cross her full pink lips, just ahead, she could make out a scattered group of ramshackled houses. [Those must be where the people live! Maybe I can live here too!] Thinking gleefully to herself, Superwoman happily trotted toward the homes with hope.

As Superwoman began to enter the modest looking, one story houses, some seperated by large acres of farmland, she became painfully aware by looking around her, that she stuck out like a sore thumb. There were denim overalls, flannel shirts and cloth blouses and skirts, but no skin tight leotards and capes. [Hmm, I don't seem to be dressed like the rest of these people.. Maybe I need to cover myself, so I don't seem out of place...] Just as she had this thought, she turned her head to the right to see multiple peices of clothing hung out on a clothesline beside a house. [That's it!] Superwoman thought to herself as she walked over to it. [I hope the owner won't mind me borrowing these..] Superwoman thought. She chose a long sleeved baby blue blouse and a long red, ankle-length skirt. Almost immediately, Superwoman donned them. They fit like a glove! Strangely, a thought came to Superwoman's mind, a sense of familiarity. Superwoman put the thought out of her mind, as she looked down towards her bright red boots. [These also look out of place..How can I cover them up?] As if to answer her, Superwoman caught sight of a pair of black women's shoes. Superwoman approached them and slipped them on..[They fit perfectly!] Superwoman thought with a smile! Her disguise complete, she then began walking down the well trod dirt road again.

As Superwoman passed a plain, faded brick house on a spacious farm property, a sweet looking middle aged woman dressed in a bright floral print dress with a starch white apron, her greying brown hair done up in a bun atop her head. A pair of biofocals perched on the bridge of her nose, opened the rusted front screen door with a nails-on-a-chalkboard squeal. This instantly caught Superwoman's attention, as she swung her head around in surprise. Her blue eyes wide with shock.

The older woman's slightly wrinkled face gave a wide, warm smile and said "Hello, dear. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you lost, sweetheart?" in a grandmotherly tone, tinged with a southern accent.

Superwoman gave an embarrased shrug, replying "I..I'm terribly sorry, but I don't remember who I am.."

The old woman's face fell sadly, her dark brown eyes filled with sympathy, her right hand went up to her mouth "Oh, you poor thing! That's terrible!" Before lowering her hand and saying with a comforting voice "Well, I've got a pot of vegetable stew simmerin' on the stove. You should come in and eat some if you're hungry and we can try to find out who you are."

"Thank you, Ma'am! That's very kind of you. I'm starved to tell you the truth! I'd love some stew!" Superwoman said in a grateful voice as she walked up to the woman's front porch.

[Chew, chew, chew] Barely a word was being said across the dimly lit dinner table, the nervous silence only punctuated by the sound of teeth grinding down stewed vegetables into swallowable paste.

Superwoman had previously been introduced as "this poor amnesiac girl" to the woman's husband, David Henner, a beefy, blondish, hulk of a man with obvious callouses on his fingers, and long lines of stress and work on his sun marked, chisled face. And to their 10 year old son, an energetic dusty blonde moppet by the name of Jordan. He seemed to have taken an instant liking to Superwoman, as he grinned a smile that was missing a couple teeth whenever he looked at her, and whenever she looked back at him, he would giggle and look away.

It turned out that she was in the small farming community of Summersdale, Kentucky. A boondock town who's main basis for survival was the selling of crops and livestock. The Henner family had been prominent farmers in Summersdale ever since the mid 1800's, yet had fallen on hard times since the depression, and because of David developing a bad back due to overwork. Recently, Gladys had attempted to keep the money pouring in by planting Victory Gardens for sale during wartime.

David seemed less easygoing towards this new guest, always giving her a suspicious glance. "Woke up in a ditch, you say?" he asked.

"No, sir. It was a very large hole in the ground." Superwoman responded as if it was an everyday occurance.

"Hmm.." David hummed thoughtfully, before cutting his eyes over to Gladys, his wife. "You reckon it had somethin' to do that earthquake what rolled on through here?" He asked her plainly.

Gladys adjusted her biofocals and said "Could be. Maybe that earthquake's the cause of her amnesia."

"Well.." David began as he mopped his mouth with a handkerchief and tossing it down "..you're welcome to stay here for as long as you please. On the condition that you pull your own weight and help out with the chores around here." He concluded, not even bothering to look at Superwoman.

"Yes, Sir. I promise that I will." Superwoman responded, an eager look on her face.

"Oh, dear, I hope that you don't overwork her!" Gladys said in a sorrowful tone.

"Don't worry, darlin'. She looks strong enough." David said with a sly smile as he looked at Superwoman, who looked back nervously.

"Alright, dear, here's the guest room where you'll be staying." Gladys said in a sugary sweet voice as she led Superwoman to the modestly furnished room.

Superwoman looked around. The room was colored with cream white walls, a little black dresser outfitted with six drawers, and a rather pitiful looking bed that was very low to the floor.

"I'm sorry that it's so plain, sweetheart." Gladys sincerely apologized.

"No, no, it's really quite alright." Superwoman replied, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Good, I'm glad, dear. Now, you wait here while I get some of my clothes for you to wear.." Gladys said in a pleased voice as she began to trot out of the room.

"Gladys! Is breakfast ready, yet?!" David thundered from his room the next morning.

"Not yet, dear! Give me time to set the table!" Gladys responded. She was standing in the kitchen, still taking the curlers out of her hair. She sighed to herself "The nerve of him, sometimes.."

Superwoman walked into the kitchen adjusting the collar of her new dark green, long sleeved blouse. She blessed the fact that it and the matching long black skirt both covered her costume. "Good morning, Mrs. Henner!" She said cheerfully.

"Good morning, dear. My, don't you look lovely!" Gladys said appreciatively.

"Heh. Thank you, Mrs. Henner." Superwoman said with a giggle and a blush, before becoming serious. "Excuse me, Mrs. Henner, but would it be alright if I set the table for you?"

"Oh, that's alright, sweetie, don't trouble yourself!" Gladys said, her eyes squinting with her grin.

"No, really, I don't mind. You're busy making breakfast, the least I could do is set the table." Superwoman said with a sympathetic face.

"Well, aren't you sweet!" Gladys said in a touched voice, tears forming in her eyes. "Of course, darling, you go right ahead!"

Superwoman noticed the plates, tablecloth, untensils and napkins on the kitchen counter that led to the dining room table in the adjorning room. [Hmm, this seems simple enough..] She thought optimistically. Superwoman took the cherry red tablecloth and tossed it over the polished oak table. Unbeknownst to her, however, she was beginning to pick up speed, eager to get the job then carefully took the ceramic oriental design plates in both hands, and shot around the table in a blur, distributing the plates around the table in one tenth of a second, yet all of the plates were neatly placed in their designated areas on the table without even so much as a crack. Again, faster then the blink of an eye, retreived the utensils and napkins and set them beside the plates in an orderly fashion, before coming to a stop in front of the dining area.

"Oh, yes, darling, I should tell you that the utensils go next.." Mrs. Henner began to say as she walked into the room, before stopping dead in her tracks, her eyes open wide with surprise at the sight before her. "My word..You're one mighty fast worker, darling!" She finally choked out.

Superwoman looked back at the table and then at her hands. "You mean, you can't work that fast?" She said with wonder.

"Young'n, could you come over here for a second?" David's voice called out to Superwoman as she exited the house's back door onto the fenced in farmland.

Superwoman obeyed, and walked towards David, who was lying underneath an old, rusted green tractor. "Need some help, Mr. Henner?" she asked innocently.

"..Nothing wrong with the.." David muttered to himself. Superwoman was amazed at how crystal clear he sounded, given that he was under the large vehicle. Finally, he scooted out from the undercarrige, his blue plaid shirt stained with oil, and said "Yes, you can, little missy.." in an almost spiteful tone. "..this ol' tractor won't push foreward, and there's nothin' wrong under here, so I'm thinkin' it's one of the tires." He explained, getting to his feet. "So what I need you to do is help me get this here wheel off, so I can inspect it." He said, briskly patting the wheel.

Superwoman nodded as David walked between the narrow space of the axis and the tire and took a wrench out of his toolbelt and said to Superwoman, without making eye contact "Okay, when I tell you, you pull the tire upwards."

"Like this?" Superwoman nonchalantly asked, and took hold of the rubber tire and effortlessly lifted it, David, and the whole tractor over her head!

"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!" David shouted at the top of his lungs with a combination of fear and surprise.

"Oops, sorry!" Superwoman apologized as if she had simply dropped a piece of food on the floor and complied, dropping the tractor so quickly that it knocked all four wheels off, and nearly crushed David underneath! David scrambled out from under the tractor with the look of someone who had just seen a ghost, and he rushed to the door calling out "Gladys! Gladys!" in a frightened voice.

Superwoman stood near the damaged tractor, her head held low. She knew that she was in trouble.

"Let me use the phone, Gladys, NOW!" David roared, the veins popping out of his neck, his eyes narrow with fury.

Gladys stood in front of the house's lone telephone, blocking it with her body, and stretching her hands at her sides, her face showing resistance. "No, David! Don't be rash!" She yelled back.

"Rash? RASH?! The girl lifted up the whole tractor, and me with it! She's a freak! She needs to have the Government take her away!" David shrieked.

"Stop it, David, just stop it!" Gladys screamed in response, her husband taken aback by the sudden burst of strength. "Would Sally have wanted you treating someone this way?!" The indignant wife asked with righteous indignation.

David paused for about two minutes. Frozen, as if he were a statue. Then, his bottom lip began to quiver, and his eyes started to water, as he began to weep quietly to himself.

Gladys immediately walked over to her husband and gave him a warm embrace, cradling his lowered head in her hands, she consoled him in a whisper "I'm sorry..I'm so sorry, dear."

Superwoman sat on the chipped and cracked stone front porch, staring off into the distance, pondering her fate. However, she began to notice something. When she concentated her vision, all of the houses and farmlands that were far away seemed like they were right next door! Her concentration was broken by the sound of the screen door swinging open, Superwoman turned her head around in surprise, only to see Jordan standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Miss." He said with a grin.

Superwoman nodded and gave a friendly sideways wave.

Jordan sat beside Superwoman and looked at her. "Are you okay, Miss? You look sad." He said sympathetically.

"Jordan, why doesn't your daddy like me?" Superwoman asked, looking straight ahead.

There was a long pause, Superwoman felt she had struck a sensitive nerve. Finally, Jordan said quietly with a lisp "Because you look like Sally.."

"Hmm? Who's Sally?" Superwoman asked curiously, turning to look in his direction.

Again, another pause. Jordan eventually muttered "She was my big sister..She died two years ago.."

Superwoman's face became downcast "Died? How?" She asked.

"Pnumonia..Ever since she died, Daddy won't allow any pictures of her in the house." Jordan sadly explained, tears coming to his eyes.

Superwoman calmly reached for Jordan and ran her fingers through his blonde hair. "It's alright, Jordan. I understand."

The sound of the door squeaking came to both of their ears. They looked behind them, to see David and Gladys standing behind them, smiling.

"Aww, if this isn't the sweetest sight." Gladys said warmly.

"Young Lady..I was wondering if..if you wouldn't mind staying here for as long as possible. You could really be of help, here." David said, a look of compassion on his weathered tanned face.

Superwoman returned the smile with a feeling of acceptance in her heart. "Of course I'll stay." She said lovingly. These people were so nice to her, there was something vaguely familiar about them..

Over the next couple of days, Superwoman began helping the Henner family in tremendous ways. Since the tractor was now broken and they had been forced to sell the horse that pulled the plow to cover their living expenses, Superwoman had the idea to pull it with the strength of her own body! As Superwoman shot across the ground at breakneck speed, the plow tilling the earth behind her, she began planting seeds in the ground with casual flicks of the wrist with lightening fast precision!  
All the while, Superwoman had the strange, familiar feeling as if she had done this very same type of task for someone before.

The Henner family's jaws were practically on the floor as they observed. Jordan's face was filled with wonder and admiration. "She's wonderful!" He mused to himself.

In a matter of only two seconds, she had finished the job! Superwoman calmly stepped out of the plow, dusted off her hands, and said "Alright, what else would you like me to do?" in a nonchalant voice.

David was about to say something, when there came the sound of a great rumbling, like the snore of a fairy tale giant! The Henners and Superwoman began to look around in a panic. "What in the blue blazes..?!" David shouted aloud.

Suddenly, a man with thinning hair and a bushy white beard came running down the pathway, shouting "The dam's burst! The dam's burst! Get everyone out of here!"

"My word! What do we do?!" Gladys exclaimed.

"What do you think we do? We run!" David shouted at a high pitch, hooking Jordan around the midsection with his forearm and took off like a shot.

Gladys began to race after him, before turning around and bugging her eyes out at the sight of Clara stoically standing right in the middle of the farm with her back to the fleeing family, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides.

"Darling! Come on! We've got to get out of here before the water hits!" She called out.

Superwoman didn't respond at first, she continued to look out at the rushing flood of water flowing over the horizon with her super vision. A few seconds later, she responded, without looking back, a steely look of determination on her face "You take Jordan and get out of here. This town is NOT going under." Now, it had all of a sudden come back to her in a flood of returning memories! Whom she was, where she was from, and what she had dedicated her life to! Now it was time to return to that line of duty!

"Sweetheart, what do you..?" Gladys began, before any further words caught in her throat. Superwoman immediately kicked off her shoes, unbuttoned her blouse and peeled it off, then in one swift motion, pulled her skirt down to reveal her elegant, curvy, muscular body, clad in her tight and colorful costume! "What in the world?!..." Gladys said with a shocked expression, as Superwoman took a mighty leap upwards and soared into the sky, leaving Gladys looking off after her, her face as pale with shock.

Superwoman looked down from the air and spotted an abandoned yellow bulldozer sitting by the side of the road, next to a lead drainage pipe. [Driver must've left it when the site was evacuated.] She thought, before swooping down as gracefully as a swan and walked over toward the huge dozer. [I've got it!] Superwoman thought in a moment of inspiration. [I could use the plow to carve a trench to carry the floodwaters to another location!] Taking ahold of it's large metal plow, she lifted upwards to dislodge it..nothing happened! [Huh?!] She thought in surprise, and tried again...It didn't budge! It was as if it was too heavy to lift! Superwoman couldn't believe it!

Her heart began to palpitate with fear, the first time she had felt this type of emotion! She could now feel a slight rumbling beneath her feet, as if an earthquake was beginning! [The water! The water from the dam! It'll flood everything in sight! Homes will be destroyed, people will die if I don't do something!] Superwoman thought worriedly to herself. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something..something emmitting a sort of greenish glow in the dried out brown grass near her. Superwoman walked over to the direction of the object and inspected it carefully. It appeared to be a rock, a bright green glowing fragment of rock about a foot in diameter!

[That rock, it seems so familiar..] Superwoman thought as she stared at it concernedly. Then, her eyes widened in shock! "Of course! The meteor! This is a fragment of that meteor that knocked me out and took away my memory!" Superwoman exclaimed aloud. "This fragment is responsible for sapping my strength!" Superwoman then furrowed her brow with righteous indignation.  
"Well, I've got to get rid of it! Lives are at stake!" She proclaimed in a stalwart tone. "I'd better not touch it, there's no telling what it could do." Superwoman said cautiously, before looking ahead. "I know! I'll kick it into that drainage pipe!" The Maiden of Might then reared back with all of her might, and kicked. It was as powerful a kick as a professional human soccer player, and managed to fire right into the lead tube's massive opening, like a bullet being fired out of a gun in reverse!

"I did it!" Superwoman sighed with relief. But that relief was short lived, as she could feel the vibration in the ground gaining potency!

Just then, Superwoman could feel a massive surge of energy and power blast through her body! She could actually feel her superhuman strength returning to her, instantly! "YES! I feel strong again!" The Woman of Steel exclaimed with the elation of a schoolgirl, a joyous expression on her face, before walking back over to the bulldozer, and with complete ease, grabbed ahold of the large plow and yanked it off of the dozer with a loud [CLICK]. Superwoman then thrust the massive steel scoop over her head with a proud grin of acievement on her face.

The Maiden of Might was so filled with joy, in fact, that she had accidentally begun to drive her fingers into the metal, deforming it with an audible crunching noise! "Oops!" Superwoman exclaimed, coming to her senses. "That's right! I have to divert the water from the town!" Suddenly, a roar from behind her made Superwoman turn around in surprise! Sure enough, a large flood of raging water, white with foam at the front, came pouring from around the corner! "Not a minute too soon!" Superwoman announced, before putting the plow immediately to the ground and after briefly taking the ready postion of a marathon runner, took off like a shot, becoming a blur of blue and red, plowing a long and very deep trench as she went, going so fast that the friction caused by her boots caused the surrounding grass to catch fire! However, the massive current, changing course and following after Superwoman like the hypnotized rats of Hamlin, put the small blazes out almost immediately.

In the course of about one second, Superwoman had reached a dried out lakebed about 5 miles away and watched while the massive torrent followed suit a couple minutes later. As the floodwaters poured into the dried lake, slowly restoring it inch by inch, the water began to dissapate, until, finally, it had slowed to a trickle as from a faucet. Satisfied with her job done, Superwoman jumped upwards and began flying back towards Sunnydale.

The Henner family was standing in the farm next to their home, looking up awestruck as Superwoman slowly floated down, facing them, like an angel.

As Superwoman's boots made contact with the earth, kicking up a small amount of brown dust which wafted near her legs, before settling to the ground once again, David was the first to speak, sputtering "W-who are you?" in a frightened voice.

Superwoman gave the family a friendly smile and held her palm foreward. "No need to fear, citizen. I am Superwoman, defender of Truth and Justice! Your dam emergency has been taken care of."

Gladys, tears of joy in her eyes, said gratefully "Thank you, dear child, for rescuing our farm, our house and our town! How can we repay you, darling?"

Superwoman continued to smile, her hands planted on her hips. "All you need to do, Mrs. Henner, is continue to help those in need." She replied in an authoritive voice.

"Will we ever see you again, Superwoman?" Jordan asked sadly with a frown.

Superwoman walked over to the family, kneeled down beside Jordan, looked into his face with a warm, maternal smile, and ruffled his messy blonde hair. "I travel all over the world, sometimes, Jordan, so there's no telling when I'll be back here. But I guarantee that when I return, I'll give you all a visit."

"Thank you, Superwoman!" Jordan exclaimed with joy, embracing the heroine in a tight hug. Superwoman lightly patted the boy on the back.

"So where are you headed next, Superwoman, Metropolis, New York?" David asked somewhat nervously, beginning to regain his composure.

"What? Why?" Superwoman asked suspiciously, looking up towards him. Surely they couldn't have known where she had come from.

"Oh, it's terrible, dear.." Gladys began worridly, her hand up to her cheek. "The astronomists have reported that there's a giant meteor headed for Metropolis! They believe that an impact could destroy about half of the city!"

[The meteor! I must've only knocked it slightly off course!] Superwoman thought, her eyes wide with fear. Superwoman stood up with a jolt, saying hurridly "I've got to be going! Please excuse me, and make sure that the clothes I arrived in are returned to your neighbor!" Before leaping into the air and taking flight!

"She's super, ain't she, Pa?" Jordan asked with excitement, looking off after her.

"Yeah, she's a real super hero, son." David replied with a warm look, his hand on his son's shoulder.

As Superwoman propelled herself through the air, frantic thoughts raced through her head [Louis, Jenny, Perry, all those innocent people.. What if I'm not there in time? How can I get rid of that meteor without hurting myself again, thouigh?]  
Then, suddenly, an idea flashed through her brilliant mind, her eyes glinted with inspiration. [Of course, the pipe! That pipe was made of lead, and as soon as I had kicked the meteor fragment into that pipe, I instantly regained my powers! Lead must counter-act the meteor's radiation!] Superwoman looked downwards as she flew through the air. Using her super vision to try to locate some form of lead on the ground.

Then, just as she was flying over southern Pennsylvania, she noticed what appeared to be a large heap of metal with a large green sign, proclaiming "Junk Yard". "That's it!" Superwoman exclaimed with joy. Then, like a missle, she descended rapidly towards the large yard of scrap. Upon landing in the midst of the discarded field of metal, iron and whatnot, Superwoman immediately began digging through the yard, her two hands moving at an unbelieveable rate of speed until her flailing arms had become a blue blur that resembled hummingbird wings. Scrap of all shapes, sizes and chemical compositions went flying. Just then, Superwoman came across a large sheet of what appeared to be lead! Superwoman grabbed the square piece and inspected it carefully with her super vision and sure enough, had all the characteristics of lead! "Eureka!" Superwoman excalimed joyfully, before fastening the sheet under the crook of her arm, and continued her search one-handed. It only took a matter of seconds for Superwoman's search to come to complete fruition. With each milisecond, her blinding speed would uncover another large piece of lead, and in the blink of an eye (so to speak), she would fuse the thicker peices together and behind each other with her laser vision, until finally, she had an impressively large and thick looking lead shield! The shield was around 55 feet long by 40 feet wide, and it was 27 feet thick! Superwoman took hold of the back of the enormous shield, and crushed and deformed out a sizeable handle with the same ease as crumpling tin foil! She then raised the enormous lead mass over her head, crouched, and lept into the air, taking flight.

Worried, unsure glances were being exchanged on the streets of Metropolis. Pedistrian cars and taxi cabs stopped in the middle of the street, the drivers sticking their heads out the windows and looked towards the sky. "What the Sam Hill..?" "My goodness.." and "Heavens.." Seemed to be the concensus.

High in the cumulous smattered blue sky, a black object was beginning to grow..and grow.. becoming ever larger, as if it were a giant ink stain, blotting out the sky! The object blocked out the sun and caused a premature duskfall in about three seconds!

Louis stepped out of the lobby onto the street just as the first screams of terror were beginning to emit from the frightened populace. Louis looked up from his watch with a start in time to see the cloud of doom, now glowing bright green with flames, bearing down on the city! His insticts told him to turn tail and start running, but his feet and legs felt as if they had been turned to stone, his eyes wide with fright, Louis couldn't even shout anything, as his vocal chords were paralyzed. He could only think frantically to himself [Superwoman, where are you?!]

Just as the now gargantuan space rock had apparently pronouced the city's death sentance, another large object came zipping in from the south, everyone's head's turned in fright once again. This object was rectangular in size, and it appeared to be metallic in nature. "Oh, no! What now, a UFO?!" A slightly overweight, bald man asked in complete disbelief.

However, the square metallic object rocketed upwards towards the meteor! "They're gonna hit!" A thin, moustached businessman exclaimed as everyone on their feet dove for cover.

At the moment of collision, there was a mighty explosion that shattered the windows of buildings and vehicles, and temporarily deafened the people. The meteor combusted in a fireworks show seemingly made for the Almighty. The sky was temporarily hued lime green and small flaming jets of rock and lead went soaring in all directions, far away from the city!

After the noise died down to a whisper, the people looked up to see a tiny caped figure hovering in mid-air, holding a five foot hunk of sheared lead scrap in her hand. The citizens' faces lit up almost immediately. "Superwoman!" "Hooray, it's Superwoman!" "It's her! It's really her!" "Look, sweetheart, there's Superwoman!" "She saved us!" They cheered.

High above the city, Superwoman, her cape fluttering in the wind, had tuned into the people's exaltations with her super hearing. She enjoyed every minute of it, but resisted the urge to go down to them and accept their thanks. Instead, she merely blushed modestly, saluted with her free hand, and zipped off to parts unknown (to the people, at least).

Louis watched her go off with a sharp smile. [I knew you wouldn't let us down! Now, Clarybelle on the other hand..] He thought, as he walked back into the Planet building, a fresh new scoop riding on his typing fingers.

The headlines the next day read "SUPERWOMAN SAVES CITY FROM DEADLY METEOR!;SCIENTISTS RECOVER METEOR FRAGMENTS,PLAN TO DONATE THEM TO CITY MUSEUM." The byline read "Story by Louis Lane".

Louis, leaning back in his chair in a cocky manner, lowered the latest Planet edition to scrutinize Clara, who stood before him in a nervous fashion, her broad shoulders slumped, her small hat held timidly in her hands.

"So let me get this straight, you couldn't nab a taxi to take you back to the Planet, so you spent all day walking back here, the building was closed then, so you walked back to your apartment to take down the story?" Louis asked with a suspicious glance.

Clara simply shrugged and nodded her head with a nervous smile, pushing her round frame glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.

"Think the Chief'll buy it?" Louis asked with a crooked eyebrow.

"He was quite upset, but in the end, he understood." Clara replied in a hushed voice.

"Well, Clarybelle, the next time you take off work to chat with your lady friends, make sure you come up with a better cover." Louis said with a smug look of satisfaction, before rasing the paper back to his face again.

"You should be grateful that you and this place are even still standing!" Clara admonished, her hands on her hips in a very "Super" pose.

"Oh, I am, Clarybelle. Thanks to Superwoman!" Louis said warmly, peeking over the top of the top of the paper.

It was months later, now. The two thugs who had robbed the museum were now inside a dark and dingy warehouse. They handed the lead container over to a slim, frail man with snow white hair and a fuzzy beard, thick lensed eyeglasses, dressed in a modest suit with a white labcoat draped over it.

"Here ya goes, Professor. You was right! Dat Superwoman's powers wored off as soon as she got near it!" The skinny thug exclaimed.

With a mad look in his eyes, the Professor opened the box to reveal an uneartly green glow illuminating his face and part of the dimly lit room. "Yes..YES! This is perfect! Excellent work, gentlemen!" The Professor said with dramatic flair as he closed the box and reached into his pocket. "Now, let me just get you your reward.." The mad scientist said cautiously, before whipping out a black revolver, and in the blink of an eye and two shots directly in the gut, the two goons went down with a groan, their abdomens bleeding heavily.

"That was a necessary precation, Mr. Corben..No one must ever learn of Superwoman's weakness but the two of us!" The Professor said almost apologetically to the silhouette of a man standing directly behind him.

"Don't give it a second, Professor Vale. I've done it to people, myself. A voice from the shadows answered, before stepping into the dim light, revealing the handsome visage of the blonde, blue eyed gangster "Gentleman" John Corben, still dressed in his prison uniform!

"And you will get to do it to Superwoman herself and many other people as you take revenge on the city of Metropolis!" Professor Vale announced gleefully as he opened the lead box and removed the chunk of K-Metal, holding it high in the air. The two men laughed maniacally together as the green light of the alien mineral slightly illuminated the metallic surface of a giant, human-like shape!

TO BE CONTINUED... 


End file.
